It is generally known that numerous people fall victim to death by drowning each year only because they got into an emergency situation that was not observed by other persons. The danger of drowning exists in many places, for example in the ocean, in the sea, in lakes, in rivers, in ponds, or in public and private swimming pools. In a number of these cases, a rescue could have been possible if the emergency situation was observed by other persons and a corresponding rescue action was initiated. Often a few minutes or even seconds determines the difference between life and death of the person in danger.
Today, there exist several devices and methods that can assist in saving a person from drowning. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0019560 A1, filed by Haselsteiner, describes one such device and method. Haselsteiner's application, entitled: “PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SAME”, teaches a device which is a personal floatation apparatus having a sleeve, an inflatable bladder, a gas canister, an opening mechanism and a heart monitor in communication with the opening mechanism. When the heart monitor detects a heart rate outside of a predetermined range, a signal is sent to the opening mechanism to release the gas and inflate the bladder. Although the Haselsteiner device and method is useful in certain emergency situations, it will not prevent a person from drowning under all circumstances. In life-threatening situations, people react differently. For example, depending upon the situation and nature of the affected person, monitoring only a person's heart rate may not be adequate to determine if the person is in immediate danger of drowning. It would be more advantageous to monitor at least one physiological condition of the person along with simultaneously monitoring the person's body orientation. Such a water survival system and method would provide a more definite indication if a person was in immediate peril of drowning in a body of water. For an optimal certitude, there are still other body signals which could be measured and/or monitored to positively detect that a person is in immediate danger of drowning in a body of water.
For such water survival systems and methods to function reliably in all thinkable situations, the water survival system and method should not only measure and transfer data of the bodily constitution of a person in danger of drowning to a place of surveillance but the device and method should be able to automatically increase the buoyancy of a life jacket to cause the head of the person in danger to be elevated above the surface of the body of water so that the person can breathe. Applicants are not aware of any water survival system or method that is capable of doing this at the present time.
Therefore, there is a need for a water survival system and method that is more reliable in preventing a person from drowning in various situations. The ability to rescue life would rise considerably. Children are most likely to drown for they lack the experience to quickly recognize the gravity of a perilous situation. However, many older persons whose perceptiveness and reaction time has been reduced due to their advanced age, deterioration of mental awareness, and/or diminished dexterity, would also benefit from such a device and method.